Evaluation of the Expression of miR-486-3p, miR-548-3p, miR-561-5p and miR-509-5p in Tumor Biopsies of Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common head and neck malignancy. Expression patterns of microRNAs (miRNAs) can direct us in identifying valuable biomarkers for the prognosis of different neoplasms. Inappropriate regulation of miRNAs during physiological procedures can result in malignancies including OSCC. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression of miR-486-3p, miR-561-5p, miR-548-3p, and miR-509-5p in tissue biopsy samples with and without OSCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case-control study was conducted on 17 healthy and 17 OSCC tissue biopsy samples. The expression of miRNAs was assessed using quantitative real-time PCR (q-RT-PCR) after RNA extraction from normal and cancer tissues and cDNA synthesis. RESULTS: The means of miRNA-486-3p, miR-561-5p, and miR-548-3p expression were significantly different between OSCC and control groups (p < 0.001), but there was no significant difference in means of miR-509-5p expression between OSCC and control groups (p = 0.179). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study revealed that the expression of miR-486-3p and miR-561-5p was significantly lower in cancer samples compared to normal tissue samples. On the other hand, miR-548-3p expression increased in the OSCC group compared to the control group.

Elevated serum level of IL-4 in neuromyelitis optica and multiple sclerosis patients.

Mediators have important roles in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Interleukin 4 (IL-4) is one of the most important cytokines that has a regulatory effect on immune cells. In the current study, the serum level of IL-4 was assessed in the newly diagnosed neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients compared to healthy subjects. ELISA technique was used for assessment of the serum level of IL-4, and data analysis was performed by SPSS software. Serum level of IL-4 was elevated in both NMO and MS patients compared with healthy individuals (P < .001), but no statistically significant difference was identified between MS and NMO patients (P = .071). Furthermore, gender (female) and AQP4-Ab had significant impacts on the level of IL-4 in NMO patients (P < .001). These data show the crucial role of IL-4 in the pathogenesis of NMO and MS diseases. However, we suggest future studies to investigate the serum level of IL-4 in NMO and MS patients to clarify more roles of this cytokine in the pathogenesis of both diseases.

Promoter DNA Methylation and mRNA Expression Level of p16 Gene in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Correlation with Clinicopathological Characteristics.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between p16 methylation and its expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Also the contribution of clinicopathological factors, HPV infection and smoking in p16 expression and promoter methylation has been investigated. In this study 67 consecutive OSCC patients and 59 normal individuals were enrolled. All patients were candidates for surgery of oral cavity and fresh tumor biopsies were collected and processed for DNA and RNA extraction. Normal gingival tissues were collected from individuals referred to dentistry clinic and considered as controls. All the cases and controls were checked for HPV infection and then promoter methylation and expression of p16 gene were determined using Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and real-time PCR (QPCR), respectively. Methylation of p16 in tumors and normal tissues were 59.7 and 38.9%, respectively. Most of hypermethylated samples (>82%) were in high grades. P16 methylation was comparable in HPV+ and HPV- patients or smokers. P16 was overexpressed (~3 fold; p = 0.044) in HPV+ tumors, but it was significantly down-regulated in smoker patients (40% of all tumors). Comparison of P16 expression in OSCC tumors with different degrees of promoter methylation further suggest the relationship of methylation rate and down-regulation of P16 expression. The p16 methylation and expression was differentially affected in patients with HPV infection and the smoker cases. Regardless of the influence of environmental factors, it appears that P16 status is useful for classifying patients with OSCC and for influencing treatment strategies in accordance with this classification. Moreover, targeting the upregulation of p16 could be a promising therapeutic option.